Wonderful Wednesday Personal Blog
1/19/2017 4 Comments Ben - How he livedToday I want to post about how Ben lived. It's been a week since we let him go, and I've discovered I have quite a collection of photos of Ben (as I'm sure many of you have of your pets). I'd like to narrate a short journey through his life, if you'd be so kind as to spend a few minutes with me. He came to us as a 9 week old puppy-- and he was the same color as the hardwood floor! I wasn't sure about those ears. They seemed too big to every stand up. But within a couple of weeks, they began their ascent. Those ears didn't miss a sound! He and Dixie (who is about to turn 13) were instant buddies. They were pretty much inseparable, though he was happiest curled up with his people. He went a lot of places with me. His manners were pretty, and he loved meeting people. He even maintained his cool after the canon at a Scottish festival went off (we were much further away when it did) and payed little attention to the bagpipes. His antics even won him an award at the festival's pet parade. Who could resist his dramatic 'play dead' right in front of the judges? He never met a stranger, and everyone adored him. And then Freki joined the family. We weren't sure how Ben would treat her. He was a rough-and-tumble 4-yr-old at the time. He couldn't have been kinder. He taught her about kiddie pools, nap time, riding in the car, playing games, and how to snatch treats from the puzzle toy. Occasionally, Dixie joined in. Did he ever get into trouble? You betcha! He knew many voice commands and tricks, and loved showing them off. He'd race to the top of the stairs and I (knowing he was about to turn right and eat whatever was left in the cat's food bowl) would shout 'Left!'. He'd usually ignore my first command and turn right anyway. To everyone's amusement, I'd immediately counter with 'Your other left!', at which point he'd spin around and head to the left. He was notorious for raiding the cat's food bowl, even when we placed it on the ledge at the back of the tub. Yes, he'd climb up there for a snack. His favorite trick was to roll over and play dead. He could do this with quite a bit of flair--seemed to love it when people laughed. So we coupled the trick with the dialogue "would you rather be a Bama fan or a dead dog?" (Yes, I'm an Auburn grad). He'd fall to the floor and fling his feet into the air rather dramatically. He was the class clown in his training classes and loved to learn. Trouble? Mostly for digging. He didn't discriminate between the soft spot of yard in the corner and the flower bed or garden. I had quite a nice garden and flower bed surrounding the back porch-- until he taught Freki how much fun it was to pull up the plants and shake them around. They also were responsible for the random acts of toilet paper roll placement in the house. Though he enjoyed being inside, petted, pampered and soaking up attention, he loved the outdoors and was curious about everything. Thanks for letting me ramble on a bit about Ben. We will miss him for a long time.
4 Comments
1/19/2017 08:04:38 pm
he sounds so adorable and funny , sorry for your loss,hugs
Reply
Cathy
1/25/2017 12:22:55 pm
Thank you so much, Sharon! (hugs)
Reply
Ben;s grandma
1/20/2017 08:52:25 am
Yes, this was Ben. I knew him well. What a guy. Loved him so much. We will all miss him for a long, long, time.
Reply
Cathy
1/25/2017 12:23:29 pm
We most certainly will.
Reply
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AuthorThis is where I talk about things in my life outside of writing. Mostly gardening and dogs. Archives
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